I used to chart everyday. Wake up and take my temp before moving, stare at toilet paper deciding how stretchy, how egg whitish, mark my cramping, my moodiness... I did this for over a year, making sure I was ovulating and that we were timing right. This got old quickly. I am sure anyone else you has charted for long periods of time would agree. It also became very stressful. Not forgetting, staring at graphs and finding patterns, making sure M and I were in the right mood at the right time. I became so focused on the charting; it was crazy! So I decided I had gleaned all I could from that awful ritual. I stopped. I haven't charted in over a year and I have not looked back. I understand that it can be a helpful tool in establishing patterns, tracking ovulation, and diagnosing a problem, but charting is not for me. Fortunately I have a pretty consistent routine going on, but I have stopped even keeping track of ovulation. There are signs I pick up on and then think, "is it already ovulation/period time again?" but I have found life to be much more enjoyable the less I focus on my cycle. Less stress, less depression and less tension (and better sex). And I don't think that not charting has affected us. Yes we don't have a kid, but I doubt charting would have changed that.
My advice: Don't let charting rule your life!
A good thing to consider. I do find we can't snuggle in the mornings until I've taken my BBT, don't want to throw off the measurement - and this has been well over a year now, I would like to get back to snuggling when I want to! I think we'll chart for another ... maybe half a year? The acupuncturist actually does care about the chart, she studies them and makes copies, so I feel at least like it is going somewhere to be useful.
ReplyDeleteI hate charting. I chart anytime I don't have a medicated and monitored cycle, and I hate it every time. So annoying. Good point!
ReplyDelete